Before Danganronpa
by DarkNite88
Summary: Ever wondered what might have happened before the start of the High School Life of Mutual Killing? We will never know, but here's a possible scenario... Contains characters of the anime and an OC. I apologise for any inconsistencies. CAUTION - later chapters will contain Danganronpa IF & SDR2 spoilers. Rated T, also for these later chapters.
1. Arrival at Hope's Peak

**Important note: I have placed this under the anime section of Danganronpa since I had only seen the anime when I started writing this. However, I will be making certain references to the game, mostly lines of particular characters. **

**Also, in later chapters, there will be both Danganronpa IF and Super Danganronpa 2 spoilers. I will let you know when those chapters come about though, so don't worry.**

**Oh, and let's not forget - Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa. I own nothing. *cries***

* * *

Chapter 1 - Arrival at Hope's Peak

There it was.

Hope's Peak Academy.

I was so lucky. Getting into this school was a dream come true for any Japanese high schooler, let alone someone who had just moved here not quite a year ago. In fact, it was beyond dream – it was a miracle.

I took a deep breath of the warm summer air. I had missed a few months of school, but what mattered was that I was here now.

I pushed open one the heavy double doors. And stepped inside.

Another step.

There I was. INSIDE Hope's Peak. It was unbelievable.

The door closed with a weighty clunk behind me and the room seemed to be bathed in darkness. A light was on, but it's dimness was in stark contrast to the bright light of day outside.

I walked up the entry corridor, keeping a keen eye out for anyone. Ghosts of voices drifted from somewhere to my left, but otherwise, I could have mistaken the school for completely deserted. My sensitive ears picked up the light clops of someone walking.

A figure my height appeared around the corner. It was a girl, with short, blonde hair and a green dress.

"Hello?" I called out tentatively.

She walked forwards until she was directly in front of me. "Hey, you must be Emelyn. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki," she said in beautiful Japanese. "We've been waiting for you. Over here, in the gym."

I followed her to two glass doors, above which was marked 'Gym'. Inside, I could see a group of fifteen others gathered in a clump in the center, which was in turn subdivided into small groups. The linoleum floor was shiny and looked new. Bleachers were present on either side.

Fujisaki pushed open the door, and instinctively the faces turned our way.

I retreated into my shy posture, which had once been a stranger, but was now my best friend and accompanied me wherever I went. Japan had brought out my scared side.

Their eyes and smiles followed me as I made my way to them, Fujisaki by my side. A girl with tan skin and a brown pigtail, dressed in a white shirt, red jumper, blue shorts and sneakers turned to her neighbour and said, almost incredulous, "she's the same size as Fujisaki! I never thought we would see this day!" The neighbour in question was a big burly girl, with scars on her face and white hair. I thought she was a man, but her outfit betrayed her. The aforementioned girl merely grunted in response.

"This is Emelyn James, as you guys know," Fujisaki said on my behalf, for which I was grateful.

A tall, pretty girl with long lavender hair said, "welcome, Emelyn. I'm Kyouko Kirigiri, ultimate detective." Only a hint of a smile played on her lips, but nonetheless, her her kind words seemed genuine.

"I'm Makoto Naegi, ultimate lucky student" the slightly shorter, brown haired boy next to her said. "Pleased to meet you." He had a pleasant face and smile, and despite myself, I couldn't help but feel some sort of attraction towards him.

"Toko Fukawa, ultimate literary girl," came the hesitant words from a seemingly shy girl with brown plaited her, glasses and a long sailor outfit.

"Aoi Asahina, ultimate swimming pro" said the girl with the pigtail and a joyful smile.

"Sakura Ogami, ultimate martial artist" came from her neighbour.

"Sayaka Maizono, ultimate pop sensation" was the blue haired girl on the other side of Naegi. I had already seen her since I had to film some of her concerts. She seemed nice enough, but also slightly stuck-up, as would be expected of someone like her.

"Leon Kuwata, baseball star" said a boy with red hair, many ear piercings, a tongue piercing and a goatee with another piercing at the top of it. His tone and expression indicated a light-hearted, pleasant boy.

"Yasuhiro Hagakure, ultimate clairvoyant" said an older boy with spiky brown hair and holding a crystal ball.

"Celestia Lundenburg, super high school gambler" a girl with black hair in enormous corkscrew curls in two ponytails on either side of her head. She was dressed in a gothic lolita style, which intrigued me as to her character.

"Kiyotaka Ishimaru, ultimate moral compass," a boy with black hair said. He was the only standing 'to attention', as if he was in the army or something.

"Mondo Owada, ultimate biker gang leader" said the 'bad boy' looking guy next to him with a hilarious looking haircut. Based on his expression and stature, I figured it would be better not to mention anything about it.

"Enoshima Junko-chan, ultimate model" a girl with pink hair and a pretty face said excitedly, her arm looped around another girl's shoulder, who introduced herself monotonously as Mukuro Ikusaba, the high school soldier.

"Hifumi Yamada," said an extremely fat boy. I didn't want to judge people based on their appearance, but it was extremely hard not to make some conclusions based on his large size.

Lastly was the neatly dressed boy with dark blonde hair and glasses standing slightly away from the group. "Byakuya Togami," he said without conviction, as if bored. I nailed him down as the snobby rich kid and immediately started disliking him.

"I'm Emelyn James," I said hesitantly, "though I'm sure you already know that." I mentally face palmed myself for saying such idiotic words. "I'm the Super Duper High School Artist." Unfortunately my black boots, tartan skirt and white school blouse didn't really convey my title.

"Cool!" Asahina exclaimed, "you can, like, decorate our rooms and stuff!" She paused. "Wait, you can paint, right?"

I laughed. "Yeah,"

"Well," Kirigiri interrupted, "we better get to business. No use dillydallying around here. I'm sure we all have things to do. "I'll-"

Leon cut her off. "I can take you to your room, since it's right beside mine. Shall we?" He jauntily extended a hand, and I blushed at the gesture, giggling.

Kirigiri glared at him, but with a slight expression of amusement on her face. "No, Leon. Don't we have a baseball game coming up real soon, anyways, don't we? You better go. Don't want to let the team down."

He turned away, mock upset, and walked out the door whistling. Kirigiri extended a gloved hand towards the exit. "Well, shall we?"

I nodded and followed her out.

* * *

**A/N: Readers, please note that I constantly update chapters in order to get rid of any mistakes I spot. Whether they are typos, or about seasons...**


	2. The Introduction

Chapter 2 - The Introduction

We made it to the dorm corridor. The rooms were all separate, for one person only, which, while I had hypothesized that the facilities would be lavish for a boarding school, I was not expecting. On the door was a plate with my name on it and a pixelated picture on top. It strongly resembled me. Despite the body being very small compared to the head, I could still make out the clothes that I was wearing right now. Even my hair was the same, with one curl which mimicked the random ribbons of hair that would curl themselves. I pulled the key out of my pocket and opened the door.

The room itself was big, with a double desk, a big window, a wardrobe, a desk and a bathroom. It felt like a dream come true. It was even bigger than my bedroom.

"Wow," I muttered to myself without meaning to. Turning to Kirigiri I said, "Is everyone's rooms like this?" She only nodded in reply. She seemed to prefer not to talk.

After a bit of silence, she said, "You should have everything you need. I am to your right and Leon is to your left. If you have any problems, do not hesitate to speak to the other students. I'll leave you now."

"Thank you, Kirigiri-san."

I waited until the echoes of her footsteps dissipated, then closed the door and started to unpack. I found my suitcase in the closet - they had told me they would pre-deliver things.

Unpacking was a weighty job, and I didn't bother hanging most of my clothes, instead, I folded them neatly, along with my underwear and ladybug pajamas. My art stuff occupied half the desk.

The room was beautiful, but it didn't feel like home. It was missing the self-made painted on wallpapers that I had adorned my old room with. But that would just have to wait. An envelope found on my pillow instructed me to make my way to the principal's office. I grabbed my map in both hands, ensure my key was tucked safely away into my hoodie pocket, and left my room.

Five minutes later, I knocked hesitantly on the principal's door. A moment later, it was opened by who I assumed to be the principal - well dressed and with short purple hair.

"Welcome to Hope's Peak Academy," he said as we sat down on either side of his desk. "I am the headmaster, Jin Kirigiri. Though I'm sure you already know that."

His name triggered something in my head. "You're Kirigiri's father, aren't you?" I blurted, then covered my mouth with my hands. I didn't want to develop a reputation of being insolent. "I'm sorry sir."

He smiled. "No, that's quite all right. Kyoko is in fact my daughter. But, to business." He pulled out a folded piece of paper from one of the stacks on his desk. "This is your schedule. Purely classes." He retrieved another slip of paper, this one tinted lavender. "And these are the 'rules', if you would like to call them that. What time you are allowed in the cafeteria, when we gather in the gym, and so forth. I have assigned Kyoko to help you around these first days, but feel free to ask anyone else. If you have any problems, come and see me. Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head.

He handed me the papers. "Welcome, once more, to Hope's Peak Academy. I hope you enjoy your stay here. Now…" He opened the door. "Good day, Emelyn James."

It felt so strange hearing my name in Japanese. It sounded too foreign for my liking. "Good day, sir. Thank you."

The door closed behind me. A lot of the doors seemed to be heavy, according to the sounds they made when closed. I wondered why.

Today was Saturday, and thank goodness. It was time to truly, thoroughly introduce myself to others and the school. Time to be accepted and get into the swing of things.


	3. First Impressions

**Note: Important updates in order to reduce time inconsistencies and OOC stuff as much as possible.**

* * *

Chapter 3 - First Impressions

I found a group of students in the cafeteria. This group consisted of Celes, Yamada, Ishimaru, Owada and Maizono. Celes was sipping daintily from a teacup, Yamada was standing next to her, looking on as she drank. I couldn't help it - I could imagine them in a very Celes-sided relationship. Ishimaru and Owada were at a separate table, chatting loudly, frequently calling each other 'bro' or 'brother' and then laughing. Maizono sat at another table, doing what looked like texting on her phone. It didn't seem right to disturb any of them.

As predicted, I found Togami in the library, reading in dim lamp light, Fukawa hiding around the corner and admiring him. His annoyed but stern expression indicated he knew she was there but was biting his tongue. Or maybe his facial expression was always like that. If it was, I wouldn't be surprised. Kirigiri was also in the library, albeit in a better lit section, browsing books and occasionally writing something in a notepad. Fujisaki was by a table, a laptop in front of her, the keys constantly clicking under her fast, slim, spider-like fingers. She looked up at me as I stood there. She smiled brightly and beckoned me over. I couldn't help but feel an immense surge of liking for her surface. She had been the first to greet me, and continued to be what seemed like the nicest kid on campus. I sidled into the seat next to her.

"How is it going, James-san? Have you done some exploring?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I've just gone to see the principal and then, after having unpacked, I went, and am still going, in search of others. I hate being alone, and you guys having been with each other for a few months now doesn't really give me any advantages, does it?"

Fujisaki laughed. "Don't worry, James-san, I'm sure you'll find plenty of new friends quite soon! You seem like a pleasant person!"

That knocked me off guard. "You really think so?" I was usually a lot more upbeat, so it was surprising someone liked me despite my shy shell.

"Yeah! Really!"

The words sparked some sort of warmth deep within me. I sat there lost in thought for a moment.

"I-I'm sorry," came Fujisaki's tentative words. Her face was etched with a kind of expression I couldn't place. To say the least, it was sad. "Did I make you uncomfortable? I'm very sorry."

I almost laughed. She was apologizing for something she hadn't even done?

"Fujisaki-san, it's fine, don't worry. I was merely reflecting upon the warmth of your words." I offered her a friendly smile, which she reciprocated, obviously relieved. "Thank goodness!" she sighed quietly before turning back to her computer, fingers flying over the keyboard. I took it as a sign that it was time to leave. She had other things to do, and it wasn't my place to intrude on them.

As expected, Sakura was working out in the girls' change rooms, paying me only a curt nod as I passed through, and Asahina was doing laps in the swimming pool, an open box of donuts resting on the lifeguard chair.

Outside was a big field, with diverse lines drawn over it and some small bleachers. Leon was practicing throwing baseballs, which I guess is part of baseball… right? He seemed quite uninterested, for some reason. I climbed as silently as possible to the top of the bleacher, trying to convince myself that all I was doing there was enjoying the warm sun. After an uneventful minute, I pulled out a sketchpad and pencil from my backpack and started to draw, nothing in particular, but which soon morphed into some kind of a boy angel. I didn't particularly like it, but it was going well so far, so I continued. After a moment, I put my pencil down to think of what to add and hope for random inspirations. The pencil rolled and fell onto the seat below. I realized it a second too late - it resounded with a metallic clang, and I found myself doubled over in an awkward attempt to retrieve it as Leon turned around to face me. His face was painted with confusion for a moment - he probably wasn't aware that anyone was watching him, but then his mouth spread into a wide grin. He ran over as I hastily retrieved the runaway pencil and sat up, embarrassed.

"Hey!" he called as he arrived at the gravel pathway at the foot of the bleachers after having faulted the low fence. He then proceeded to climb, like a monkey up the bleachers sitting down next to me. I could feel my cheeks reddening.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distract you."

"That's fine. In fact, I'm grateful. I hate practicing." That caught me off guard.

"Really? But you're so good at it!"

He sighed, ruffling his hair a little. "I guess I have a talent, but really I hate everything which has to do with baseball. I've always wanted to be a rockstar."

"Mhm..." Interesting...

"So, enjoying the weather?" he asked, with a tone that implied that he knew I wasn't doing that.

"Yeah, just using…" I searched desperately for words to use, "things to inspire me." It sounded really lame.

He laughed. "So, are you liking Hope's Peak so far?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. I've barely spent two hours here, so I can't really formulate much of an opinion."

"It's great," he said. "Everything is pretty much state of the art here. That's why everyone's vying for a place here. The classes are also one on one, so you get to concentrate on your ability. Though," he scratched the back of his head briefly, "I really don't know what goes on for Naegi… I mean, how do you teach someone to be lucky?"

I giggled. He had some way of putting everything like a joke, but in a good way. In a bright kind of way. It was some kind of ability. "Right now, I'm just trying to find everyone. Know what they're doing, get to know them. I hate being lonely. It's my Achilles heel, really. I can't cope with being bored or being friendless."

"Well, let me tell you then - you're the opposite of Fukawa. She is the definition of antisocial, preferring to retreat to her den, write or obsess over Togami. Not that he has any feelings for her, let alone anyone… Enoshima is really open, but I wouldn't call her friendly, really. She has… what I can only call a dark side. And Mukuro, well, she can be nice, but she really doesn't reveal anything about herself. Hagakure is quite open and friendly, he's a little weird though. I mean, 1 billion yen or something for a glass ball that is only 30 percent accurate? Anyways, Owada is very menacing at the start, but really, he's a big softie. He has a soft spot for Fujisaki in particular. Ishimaru, well, what can I say? The hall monitor. That just about describes him. And…" he stopped. "Now I'm really starting to sound like a big gossip, aren't I? I'll leave you with that."

He stuck to his word, getting up and leaving after a quick nod.

I sat there, like a fool, for a few minutes longer. It was great getting to know everyone, but this was just insane. Was my day really going to be uneventful? Well, at least getting bored quickly was a characteristic trademark of the real me.

As I made my way to my dorm, I recapitulated everything in my head. I had found everyone except for Enoshima, Ikusaba, Hagakure and Naegi. Which wasn't bad due to my complete lack of drive. I was itching for something exciting, but it would seem that the day would continue to be uneventful. Nothing to write home about. Yet.

The thought triggered tears in my eyes. Japan was not my home. They say home is where your family is, which they were, but not all.

There was still my sister.

My sister.

Still in England.

Gone.

It had been a little more than a year since she had left us. But all the sympathetic cards and hugs couldn't fill the void in my heart that her departure had left. She was only two years younger than me, but she was still my little sister. It had been my duty to protect her. Mine alone as an older sister. I loved her so much. Yet I failed.

I swallowed a few times, trying to get rid of that painful lump in my throat. I wouldn't cry. It was my resolution two months after her death. I wouldn't cry anymore. I would become numb to the hurt and become the usual me once more. I would be happy and joyous and infect everyone with my laughter as I once used to.

Once…


	4. The Beginning

Chapter 4 - The Beginning

"Oi! Wake up James-san!"

I woke up to the voice and violent shakes. "Argh! St- Sto- Stop it!"

The hands suddenly released. "Oh, sorry, James-san." It was Hagakure.

The realisation dawned on me. This guy was in my room. It was kind of weird, to say the least. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," he said, shifting from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortably, "the morning announcements woke us all up. Well, except for you. You didn't come down. Some started getting a little worried, so they sent me up here to check on you. And when I saw you lying still as a rock, well, I guess that scared me a little…"

I laughed. "Wow, others are getting scared of me being dead on the first morning? It's not like we're in some sort of killing game here."

"Well," Hagakure said again, "the dead part was kind of me. My crystal ball told me that you would leave us. It could have meant 'leave' in any way possible. So I overreacted."

"Isn't it only 30% accurate?"

He reddened and stiffened. "How did you know that?" He eyed me suspiciously.

I laughed. "Never mind. Now, can I get dressed? Without you here?"

"Of course," he said, and hastily left the room.

I changed as quick as possible, fixed my bed hair, and made my way downstairs to the cafeteria. Before entering, I decided to observe the others. Of course, most of the cafeteria was taken up by older students from the classes above me. I searched for some of my familiar classmates. They were all sitting together in a group. If you could call it that.

Asahina and Sakura were sitting together at a table, Asahina eating donuts. Togami was sitting at a table by himself, Fukawa standing up and gazing at him from a few meters away. Celes also was sitting by herself. Most of the others were at the long, rectangular table in the middle. Leon, Owada and Ishimaru were sitting at a table with… wait, was that… Fujisaki? She was practically hidden behind Owada, but she was there. It was strange. I would never have pinned her down as the type who hung out with those boys. Not that there was anything wrong with that. They seemed cool enough. But it was unexpected nevertheless. I wanted to go sit beside her, but that might give off a bad first impression, so I decided against it.

It was at that moment that I remembered that I hadn't gotten any food yet. I entered the kitchen, grabbing a small carton of strawberry milk and putting some bread through the toaster. It took me a while to find a knife and peanut butter, but in the end, I had myself some toast. I walked into the cafeteria, which was a little emptier now, considering that most had been finishing off their breakfast when I came down. I sat down at a small, circular table, listening in to some conversations around me. Well, not some, mostly the conversation of the boys and Fujisaki a couple of meters away from me. Perhaps I was hoping that they were talking about me, but their conversation was centered around their personal interests - Owada was talking about his biker gang, Leon making jokes and complaining about having to practice, Ishimaru was reminding everyone about homework, and Fujisaki interjecting now and then about some programs she might like to develop. Despite the wide range of subjects, the conversation still flowed, somehow.

At that moment, Asahina, who had left the cafeteria, burst through the doors, scanned the room and headed straight towards me.

"Emelyn-chan! May I call you 'Rin' for short?"

"Uh, sure," I replied, caught a little off guard.

"Well, Rin, I was hoping you would come with me for a swim. Please! I'm a little lonely when I go to the pool and no one else is around. Sakura-chan's gone to the dojo."

"Sure!"

She smiled. "I'll be waiting for you there." She ran off.

I grabbed my now empty plate and milk carton, chucking the latter in the bin and depositing the former in the dishwasher, before heading up to my room, finding my swimsuit and finally making my way to the pool. Of course, Asahina had already started swimming. Upon reaching the end of the lane, she removed her goggles and glanced around. Her gaze found mine and she waved energetically.

It had been a while since I had been swimming. I used to go all the time with my sister, but after the incident, I hadn't done much of our favourite activities. I swallowed uncertainly and dipped my foot into the pool. I splayed and curled my toes in the lukewarm water. Asahina took that opportunity to grab my foot and yank me into the pool.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, wiping my eyes and tucking several wet strands of hair behind my ears. Asahina laughed in response.

"Beat you to the end of the pool!"

"That's not fair," I whined playfully, "I mean, you came here as the ultimate swimming pro after all!"

She blushed a little. "I don't really liked being called that."

"But it's true," I countered. "I mean, you made it to the Olympics, after all!"

She shrugged. "I guess so… But it was all work. Anyways, how about I give you a five second head start?"

"Ten, I'm a terrible swimmer."

"Seven," she bargained. "And I'll go easy."

"We have an agreement."

I lowered my goggles, and taking a deep breath, started a relatively messy freestyle. It was my preferred style, my fastest too. It took a few seconds, but eventually my body got back into it's natural rhythm. Next to me, the water rippled, indicating Asahina's arrival. I sped up as much as possible, breathing only every five strokes. I stayed level with Asahina for a little, but soon enough, she surpassed me, making it to the end of the pool with at least ten seconds advance, if not more.

"See, I told you!"

"You're weren't too bad, Rin-chan."

It felt so good being called that. It was so good being a part of these students, of this school.

Everything felt good.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Views for my story are now in the triple digits! :D**

**Please help me by reviewing my story, it would be much appreciated... **

**And sorry if it's a little uneventful so far... but don't worry! Soon enough.**


	5. Friends

Chapter 5 - Friends

Classes started the next day. As well as private art lessons, I also had some regular classes with all the others, concentrating on normal high school subjects. Much to my surprise, Hope's Peak started to feel like a normal high school, even in the homework factor.

"First day and I've already got an assignment," I sighed quietly to myself. Not that I was complaining. Getting any sort of work in Hope's Peak was practically an honor.

A short exclamation was heard from beside me, followed by a clang and my table shaking briskly.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" My schoolbooks and bag were strewn next to my desk as usual, and they were the cause of this unfortunate event. In my hurry to get up, I almost tripped over myself.

The tall lanky blonde who had fallen victim straightened up as if nothing had happened. He straightened his suit. Dressed immaculately, as always.

He glared at me. Icy blue eyes drilled through my skull, freezing my brain and turning me into an incoherent mess.

"I'm really sorry," I offered again, but it sounded lame. "Truly."

He simply sneered. "Having to put up with anencephalous peasants like you talk and blabber apologies is almost as bad. Clean this up this instant, before you actually hurt someone."

Despite how bad I felt, I didn't particularly like being ordered around. Nevertheless, it was my fault. I bent down to pick up my books, but that moment, I heard a voice from behind me.

"Oi, Togami-kun, that's no reason to be so mean to Rin-chan!"

Togami's glare left me and focused on Asahina instead. "So you're defending her?" He sounded almost incredulous.

"Not exactly," the brunette retorted, obviously upset at his patronizing tone. "But you could learn some courtesy and ask her politely."

Togami scoffed. "As if politeness would ever get anyone anywhere. There is no need for it. You illustrate my point exactly."

All talking had ceased as our argument proceeded, but if it was possible, the silence deepened. Everyone held their breath. Next to me, Asahina's breath became slightly ragged; her face was painted with rage. She stared daggers at Togami. "Well, you're quite the cockalorum."

It was the perfect comeback. Asahina's tone was shouting 'you're not the only smart one here'. The reaction was beautiful. I doubt anyone could ever portray such anger as Togami at that moment.

Eventually, he let out a curt, dry laugh and left the room.

I tentatively reached out and touched Asahina's arm. She turned to me and smiled. "I'm sorry about that."

"N-no, I'm the one who is sorry. It was my fault, after all."

She smiled dryly. "Well, I guess in a sense, but Togami can be a real big jerk sometimes. He had no right to talk to you like that. Now, let's clean this up, shall we?"

As she bent down to help me pick up my books, I noticed something written on the palm of her hand.

"Asahina-san? What's that?"

"What? Oh, this?" She held up her palm. "They say the best way to remember someone's name is to write it three times on the palm of your hand. I thought it may work for this word as well!" She smiled broadly, obviously pleased with herself. "And I think that may be Togami-kun's weakness. Thinking others might be smarter than him, better in any way… Hehe!"

* * *

I joined up with Fujisaki, Leon, Ishimaru and Owada once break came around, an hour later. I had been planning to associate with some of the others, but when Leon had offered in his joyful, nonchalant way, that I join them for a meal, I couldn't really resist. Plus, that would also give me a chance to talk to Fujisaki-san. Whilst there were other periods of free time to do so, it had barely been two days since my arrival here. When I had approached her, she was busy with her computer, and based on the look on her face, it would be criminal to break such beautiful concentration.

Ishimaru was already seated at a table when I came. Early as usual. It was a mystery how he managed to get around so fast. Since the start of the day, he had been first to all classes. Even when I had left before him and ran (well, power walked - Ishimaru would have scolded me for running inside) to my next class, he was seated and ready for work by the time I arrived.

"Good afternoon, James-kun!" he said. He had in front of him some sushi, a small carton of apple juice and an apple. I almost sighed. His high school level was well deserved. I struggled to think of a more exemplary student than him.

"You don't have to address me like that every time. Rin is just fin. My last name just sounds out of place."

"Nonsense!" he exclaimed. "But, if that is what you wish, I am more than happy to oblige."

As I sat down, he eyed my tray. Instant ramen, strawberry milk, a banana and a small bag of potato chips. His face showed that he was making a particular effort to bite his tongue. It almost made me smile.

Fujisaki came next, walking meekly into the cafeteria with a practically empty tray from what I could see. She smiled upon seeing me and sat next to me.

"Hello James-san. How has your day been?"

"Very good, thank you. Surprisingly, I'm enjoying classes…" I cringed as I realized that Ishimaru could hear me. "Oh, and please call me Rin. My last name just sounds a little… weird. Out of place." I wrinkled my nose a little, possibly in a subconscious effort to emphasize my point. _I'm also a little weird and out of place here… _I thought morbidly.

"Sure! Whatever you prefer."

As I had guessed, Fujisaki-san's tray contained only a small bottle of water, an orange and a sandwich that contained some kind of fish with mayonnaise, based on the smell and the look.

Owada arrived shortly after, giving me a strangely broad and happy grin. At least I wasn't in his bad books. That would pretty much guarantee death.

And, making us all wait (upon Ishimaru's insistence) was Leon. What was to be expected? He seemed the type, and based on Owada's protestations and claims (and I quote; that "Leon will make us wait another f***ing half hour!"), I guessed I was correct. Luckily, by the time my ramen had started to cool, he came into the room, sporting the usual nonchalant grin.

"Joining the boys, James-san?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

I didn't even bother asking him to call me Rin. "Hey, you were the one who asked in the first place! Look who's chasing who!"

He fell back a little in his chair, mock hurt. "Oh, dear, I've been caught read handed! Spare me, please!" His expression was so stupid I couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one. Fujisaki was giggling very quietly, almost imperceptibly, but she was giggling nonetheless. Owada seemed mildly amused.

"Let us eat!" Ishimaru exclaimed impatiently, turning to Owada. "Were you not the one who insisted so on eating before Kuwata-kun arrived?"

Owada's mouth set in a line and he started to devour his food, showing not even a trace of table etiquette. Leon shot me a cheeky wink.

"Flirting is not welcome in a school environment!" Ishimaru interjected. "We are here to learn, to expand the realm of our knowledge, not to engage in particular relationships with the opposite sex!"

I blushed instinctively. As far as I was concerned I wasn't… flirting or anything, but…

Leon simply sat back into his chair, kicking his feet onto the table. "Oh, Ishi-kun, won't you let us have just a little fun?"

"Get your feet off the table!" was Ishimaru's answer, earning an exaggerated roll of the eyes from Leon and another silly giggle from me.

The rest of the day passed well. I got the feeling that Leon kept inching subtly closer to me, but there was no evidence to support that.

I was making my way to Fujisaki's room after classes in order to talk, spend time and possibly mess around on her computer when… he turned up. Followed by Fukawa who lurked behind pillars and walls, careful not to lose sight of Togami. As to why she was following him, I had no clue. But one thing was clear. She wasn't in a hurry to get spotted...

I decided to keep as dignified as possible. Togami's intimidating demeanour, of which I had received a face-full, wasn't going to affect me in the future. Head up, walk straight, and… I bumped right into him.

"Hey!" he growled. "That's the second time!"

"And is moving out of the way above you, oh great Togami?" I spat out the venomous words.

Fukawa stepped out from behind a pillar. "H-how dare you s-scum insult Byakuya-sama! You filthy being!"

Togami paid no heed to her. As for me… my tongue started to turn sharp.

"Shut up!" I yelled at her.

"Peasants never even had the chance to catch a glance at their king… And when they did, it was a great honor. You are so fatuous, treating me this way. It's just a matter of time until you realize how haughty you are pretending to be… and how I superior I really am. I am of the Togami family, after all!"

"Oh, well look who's bloviating right now!" I had decided to use Asahina's discovery and had spent half an hour on an online thesaurus, looking for the most complicated words I could find and jotting them down in order to memorize them.

He shot me another of his trademark glares. "Get out of my sight, now."

"I never asked to be in it," I grumbled quietly, but I happily obliged.

He turned to Fukawa. "You too."

"E-eh? B-Byakuya-sama!" She ran down the corridor as he strode away at his quick pace.

It was incredible what had happened between the corridor and Fujisaki's room, a mere distance of around 15 meters.

Togami… Urgh… That stuck-up prick...

It was war.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to my one Guest reviewer! That was much appreciated!**

**Sorry if there are some inconsistencies with the Japanese language when it comes to the 'big' words. I don't speak Japanese, unfortunately... D:**


	6. Togami

Chapter 6: Togami

Things hadn't started off well between Togami and myself. Even from the start, I could tell that I wouldn't like him, but had made an (short-lived) effort nonetheless. Slowly, more and more incidents accumulated, so it was almost safe to say that we were… enemies. Fukawa as well, in a sense, but that was a discussion for another time.

The very thought made me sad. I wanted to be friends with everyone in this school, but my temper and quick judgment don't tend to help me out in social situations.

But, as I admitted guiltily to myself, I kind of enjoyed our mutual hate. Whilst Togami had been the cause of some very unpleasant situations, I sure had had my fair share of revenge, notably hiding stuff of his, 'accidentally' spilling juice on his suit a number of times and drawing hilariously stupid-looking caricatures on his book in pen. These, of course, were the pages on which he had written homework or other formal texts that he had to show to the teacher. Any sort of friendly or neutral interaction was brought to a halt, replaced with taunts and death stares.

Of course, my other friends did everything in their power to stop our feud. They did their best to ensure I avoided Togami, chatting loudly with me whenever he passed. But that didn't stop the constant taunts on his behalf, which were slowly driving me mad. It took all my self-control not to snap.

We had sat a history test the previous week. It regrouped all periods and required much studying. It had been very difficult, too. My brain had been under tremendous strain. And, as it goes without saying, it would determine our grade.

As the teacher started handing back the corrected exams, my stomach went all kablooey. It was as if all the butterflies had just exploded. If I didn't get about a 70% on this, I don't know what would happen… And history has never been my best subject.

I cringed as Himoto-sensei deposited my test paper facedown on the desk. Tentatively, one eye squeezed shut and the other squinting; I slowly turned over the dreaded paper and searched for the red ink.

'A-am I imagining things?!'

I had gotten 90%, followed by a note saying 'excellent work!'. It was by far the best result I had ever gotten. And in my worst subject! I had never been quite the academic.

This time, my self-control was concentrated on not jumping around, squealing. It was torture to try and wipe off my broad grin and turn it into a small smile.

Around me the reactions were varied. Some (well, really Owada) were groaning and face-palming, others were neutral, yet others were smiling. And that's when I heard his dreaded voice…

"Tsk. That's terrible. Not even a 95? It's a miracle you got into this school."

Togami, sitting behind me, had seen my score and used it against me. His paper was lying on the desk with a '100%' written on it. What should I have expected? He was perfect in almost every way… I swallowed down a painful lump. "Well done." At least **I** could make an effort to be nice.

"It was overly elementary. Even fools and simpletons should get full marks."

It didn't need any reading between the lines. His answer was painfully straightforward. It was untrue, but it was still hurtful.

"Of course, not that we could expect anything from a waste of space like you…"

And that did it.

Shoving my test into my bag, I hastily got up, knocking over my chair in the process, but I didn't care. I made a beeline for the exit and left the classroom, slamming the door behind me.

"W-wait! Rin-chan!"

Asahina, accompanied by Fujisaki, burst out into the corridor and ran towards me. My attempts to shake them off were futile.

"What is it, Rin-san?" Fujisaki's quiet and concerned voice asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's that…" I wanted to say 'jerk' or 'asshole', or perhaps even Owada's trademark 'f***er' but decided against it. "... Togami. I've just had enough of him."

Right on cue, he stepped out of the classroom. Other followed shortly, as expected, interested as to the cause of the commotion.

"My, my, did some simple words hurt your feelings? Or is your brain too slow to process them? Are you upset because I have made your own stupidity obvious to you? Why, you should thank me."

"Stop it!" I yelled. "Just stop! I've had about enough of you! Why pick on me? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Well," he replied calmly, "there are a number of things. Firstly, you purposely tripped me-"

"It was an accident! I apologized!"

"Next, you bumped into me in the corridor…" his smug smile grew larger. "You soiled my book with your dirty drawings a number of times…"

"And what you do is worse! Okay, maybe the tit-for-tat mindset isn't correct, I was wrong to be mean to you, but why do you do everything in your power to make me break inside?!"

"Tch. You are imagining things, James. For it is you, the cause of all these events."

"Stop messing with me!"

"Messing with you… Hardly… More like playing a fun game with you and your emotions."

"So you admit it!"

His unpleasant smile broadened once more. "Correct. But maybe you need some more explanation as to my motive? Very well. Tell me, James, do you have siblings? "

_No… Not this question..._

I swallowed hard. "Well… yes…."

"Well then, you know the constant battle with them for your parent's attention. The battle to become the one who rises above. To become the cream of the crop. Surely you can relate to this? It is the same here. I am becoming the cream. And for that, you must move down to the rank of mere milk, even if I have to pull you down to get on top. Didn't such things ever happen to you at home?"

"N-not really…" I was starting to feel weak. The mere thought of my sister did that to me without fail. Breathing started to become tedious.

"Perhaps because you were older? Younger siblings are always such fun to control. And easy to dominate, as well."

"... She ran away from home…. in a sense..."

"Ah. Couldn't tolerate your presence anymore?"

That... was it...

The floodgates opened, taking everyone by surprise. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Blaming those events on me… Blaming those terrible events on me… But not only that - perhaps it was my fault after all…

Perhaps it was my fault after all…

"S-she's… dead…"

Several let out quiet gasps. Asahina rushed to me, putting her hands around my arms as I slumped against her, tears streaming down my face.

And for a moment there… I could have sworn I saw Togami's face… Concerned face…

* * *

I spent the rest of the day in bed. I didn't feel up to attending classes. Many shot me sympathetic glances as Asahina and Leon escorted me to my room. I fell asleep crying into my pillow. Togami had successfully opened up all wounds and poured salt and arsenic on them.

_Knock knock._

I didn't feel like talking to anyone, but I still yelled out, in a slightly hoarse voice, "Come in! It's open!"

I stiffened as I saw who it was. What was _he_ doing here?

"What do you want?"

Strangely, he wasn't smug or stuck as usual. Instead, he once more wore the previously unprecedented look of concern.

"Um… I would like to apologize, James-sama…"

Had he just called me '-sama'?!

"That was very rude and unthoughtful of me earlier on. You have my deepest sympathy… I know how painful it is to lose a sibling. After all, I was the cause of the loss of all of mine…"

"What do you mean?"

"There are numerous possible heirs to the Togami family. I was one among many. I had to become the cream, rise above them all. And as a result, I became the heir, but they were disowned. That's almost worse than death," he explained.

"Oh…"

"I once more apologize," he said quietly and quickly left the room.

'I never knew Togami had a soft side…' I thought, over and over again.

Maybe he's not actually that bad. No one is. 

But it was the only time I ever saw Togami's soft side. 

* * *

****

A/N: Well, there's the sixth chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Please, feel free to point out any errors or inconsistencies, I tried to proofread, but... hehe (*nervous giggle*)

**Anyways, unfortunately I've got _tons_ of tests coming up and I really need to study... D: So it may be a while between updates. I apologise. **

**_However -_****if you have gmail (and thus google drive), I could share my story with you so you can see whenever I write anything (which I do every few days, actually) instead of having to wait until chapters are completed. I know how painful it is waiting for the next update :P**

**If you are interested, PM me your email address and I will do so! **

(okay, you're probably not that desperate, but just putting it out there :D)


	7. Free Day

Chapter 7: Free day

"Ayiiiiii!"

"Y-you! Give that here!"

I rubbed my eyes as I tiredly stepped into the cafeteria. Things were already going against me. I had woken up at 5 am and not been able to fall asleep until 6:30 before being woken up 30 minutes later. Not to mention that I had fallen asleep at midnight... Plus, I hadn't hung my school uniform, opting instead to leave them in messy piles on the floor. I attempted to smooth out my skirt for the tenth time. It was useless.

The cafeteria was strangely empty. The other classes had all gone on something like a school trip.

That's when I saw the strangest sight. Sayaka was sitting on a table, laughing, as Celes lunged after Yamada. The latter was holding a bright pink camera.

Like a reflex, I picked up my own camera which I always wore around my neck, and snapped a shot. It was kind of cute, really. Then I walked over, by which time Celes had grabbed the camera out of Yamada's hands. She was pressing some buttons as he groaned in protest.

"What happened?"

"That pig boy," Celes said sternly, but I could tell that she meant it jokingly, "used his _beloved_ camera," she said the word 'beloved' like an accusation, "and took a picture of me without my consent."

"But it was such a beautiful shot!" Yamada whined.

"Here!" she shoved the camera back into his hands. "Don't take anymore pictures of me or I'll break that camera of yours!"

"Nooooo! You can't! It's-!"

"Speaking of which, what is that camera exactly?"

"It's a camera," Yamada replied with a humph.

"Then why is it so special?" I inquired.

"Because!" He showed me the front. It had an anime girl on it.

"Cool, Yamada, it's an anime character…" I rolled my eyes.

"It's not just any anime character," he exclaimed in disgust, "its Boo-ko from Heretic Angels_[insert star]_Mochi Mochi Princess!"

"Uh-huh…"

"There is no way you could understand her pure beauty just by seeing her on a camera!" he practically screamed, head tilted up, beady eyes scrunched closed, hands curled into fists. You must watch the anime! Come, let me expose you to it's power upon this moment, James Emelyn-dono…" His pudgy hand grabbed mine and he led me to towards the cafeteria doors.

"E-eh!"

"Hey, Yama-kun, we need to go now!" Sayaka giggled.

"Indeed we do…" he said sadly and turned back to me after a moment's thought. "Never mind! You shall watch it afterwards! Its epicness can be put on hold for a little while yet!"

"Yeah…"

As we walked towards the entrance, I asked what had been on my mind since I had entered the cafeteria. "So, where are the others? I mean, I know the other grades have gone on an excursion or something, but what about those in our class?"

Sayaka turned to me. "What? No they haven't… Wait, don't tell me you forgot, Rin-chan!" My nickname had spread fairly quickly, but only some opted to call me that.

"Um…"

She sighed, but not in an exasperated way. "Today's Free day."

"Come again?"

"It's the one school day when we're allowed to leave the academy. The teachers have given school wide permission. We were the late risers, so we took upon us the task of waiting for you. Now come on, let's go, or we'll be even later! We must take advantage of this beautiful day!" She punctuated her words as we stepped outside by throwing her arms up a little, as if trying to embrace the scenery. She was smiling broadly, and that smile infected me with its joyfulness. She sure was really pretty, especially when she smiled.

It was a short walk into the town. Hope's Peak was relatively isolated from all the big cities, strangely enough. Once we made it to the main street, Sayaka gave me her phone number and a map, before telling me to go to a café on the street corner at noon, and be back at school by 5:30. Then we parted.

I wandered the streets a little aimlessly, occasionally spotting the telltale brown uniform of Hope's Peak. Everyone seemed really excited. It was then, in accordance to my usual carelessness, that I bumped into someone. I almost fell, waving my arms comically to keep my balance as I stumbled backwards a little.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry!"

The person stood up and smiled. "Oh, no need. It's perfectly fine. It's my fault, being the lowly human I am..."

Woah. Had I heard that last bit correctly? I decided to ignore it.

He was normal height, with strange, wavy white/pink hair that was sticking up at odd angles and light grey eyes. I noticed he had a paper note in his hand.  
"Nah, the fault is mine. I should have looked where I was going. I don't have a very good record of doing so," I chuckled, apologetically. Like how people laugh when they know they've been idiots. "And, um, sorry to ask, but what's that?"

"This?" he held it up, and my eyes widened in shock. For it was a 10 000 yen note.

"Wow! Is that yours?" It was a stupid question, but I couldn't help but ask.

"Eh… no," he replied, a little uncomfortably. "I…" he looked down, a little guiltily, "I found it."

"Holy. You are one lucky guy."

"No, not really," he said, a little dejectedly.

I cocked my head. "What do you mean? That's super lucky!"

"Well, it all has a price. My parents died in a crash. I got all their fortune, but I don't have anyone to live with since I don't have any living relatives. Once, I got kidnapped, but as a result, I found a winning lottery ticket. This pattern is starting to drive me crazy. But anyways, I'm Nagito Komaeda, pleased to meet you!"

"Yeah… I'm Emelyn James." I was still reeling a little at his story. "Nice to meet you too."

After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "So, you go to Hope's Peak?"

"Mm," I acknowledged, tugging down my skirt a little, suddenly self-conscious. What about you?"

"Well, I just go to a normal school, really, but next year I'll be eligible to get into Hope's Peak! I'm sure I'll make it as the lucky student!"

"I sure hope you do," I said honestly. He seemed like a pleasant guy, and he deserved something good considering all his past tragedies. Another silence settled between us, but this one was more pleasant. Eventually:

"Hey, I know this area well. Wanna check out some of the stores?"

"Sure," I smiled.

At noon, I parted with Komaeda, who explained he also had to take his leave, and dutifully made my way to the cafeteria where Maizono-san had said she would meet me. On the way, I once again spotted some Hope's Peak students stepping into various shops.

But it was two people who caught my eye. Standing in a shady little corner was Junko, accompanied by… was that Komaeda again? I looked in shock for a moment before Komaeda retreated into the shadows with a little bow of the head. Junko looked around nervously for a moment to see if anyone had seen her and spotted me looking at her.

"Hey-lo, Rin!"

"Uh… hey." What had just happened back there?

"Heh. Some idiot bashed into me, and my phone flew into this corner over there. It nearly went down the drain… Gosh, people need to be more careful."

_Yeah, sure…_

"Anyways, she continued, I've gotta dash, I'll catch you around, sweetie!" she said energetically, leaving me still a little dazed in front of the cafeteria. Shaking my head, I wandered in, glancing at the menu out of habit even though I wasn't particularly hungry, and then scanned the room for Maizono. True to her word, she was there. She treated me (upon her insistence) to some of her lunch, before talking a little about the stores that were around the area and heading off. My eyes followed her outside until I couldn't see her anymore.

I devoted the rest of my time to finding good shops, which didn't seem to be in a shortage of any sort, especially in terms of art supplies. I greedily looked around the shop as I laid hands on everything possible. Oh, glorious art! Stores such as these had come to be shrines, but funnily enough, my first time in an art store hadn't been such a great experience.

"_Emelyn, stop!" Grandpapa called out._

_As always, I ignored him and continued to run around, squealing. _

"_O-ow!" I stumbled into something and fell, hard. Tears came to my eyes, and I almost started bawling. Something hit me on the head, and the shock, as painful as I found it, actually rendered me unable to cry. Grandpapa approached, laughing quietly. _

"_See, I told you kitten, you have to listen to your grandpapa." _

I chuckled, looking back on it now. However had that experience caused me to become an artist? Counting out my money and vowing not to spend more than 5000 yen, I gathered the beautiful supplies that I had discovered and paid for them at the register. Most of my purchases were paint related, since I planned to decorate my room, and possible some others, as Asahina had suggested upon my very first day. I thanked the storeowner, picked up the large paper bag in which my newly acquired jewels were, and headed outside.

Much like the memory of my first experience inside an art shop, something promptly hit my on the head as I stepped outside into the street.

"Ay!" I exclaimed, dropping my bag in shock.

I glared around, trying to stop the unfortunate origins of the ball.

My gaze came to rest on a certain red-haired baseball star alongside a little kid. He was holding a baseball bat and smiling in a somewhat sheepish and apologetic way. After a moment, he entrusted the bat to the little kid and ran over.

"Hey, Rin-san, I'm sorry. You okay?"

I simply glared daggers at him, and he laughed.

"Okay, I'm sorry."

"I would think that, being the baseball star you are, your aim with a bat would be a little better!" I growled, but his good mood was catching on quick. "Anyways, what are you doing here anyways, holding the dreaded baseball bat?"

He let out a big puff of air. "Kid recognized me. Asked me to hit a ball for him. I couldn't say no."

"Well," I grinned, "look who's got fans!"

"Shut up," he laughed. "Worst part is, he also asked me how I got so good…" Leon cringed, and I burst out laughing.

"Well, what did you tell him? 'Yeah, I don't practice at all; I aspire to be a rock star… Do that and you'll succeed it life'?"

"More like 'practice is the way, kid… You'll get there...'"

"Nah, more like 'just get lucky'... I think God gave your talent to the wrong person."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, and I started giggling again. I couldn't help it. When Leon was around, the sun seemed to shine a little brighter.

We stood in comfortable silence for a moment, and I felt my heart start to beat faster. Was it wrong to feel like... this after knowing him for a little less than a month?

"Uh… I…" I came to talk a step towards him, but my foot caught on a rock and sent me tumbling…

… into him.

"Woah there," he said as I came crashing into his chest. "You okay? Funny you were telling me to be careful but you haven't been following your own advice."

His words were drowned out, as if I was underwater. My heart started to be a million miles a second, my face became hot and my ears burned so much they actually hurt. Oh, god…

"N.. nrgh!" I hastily stood back up, mumbled a "thanks, I'm fine," grabbed my bag and hurried off. I stopped as soon as I rounded the corner, leaning heavily against a brick wall, warmed by the soft sun which heralded mid afternoon - I would have to go back in about two and a half hours.

I grabbed my chest and waited until my heart pace returned to normal. Then I walked off, nervously and repeatedly tucking the same strand of hair behind my ear. I tried to think of things like how I would avoid Yamada when we returned, but my mind was in too much of a jumble.

* * *

**A/N: Hey! Finally, an update! Sorry I took so long. As I explained in the previous chapter, tests and all that have been getting in my way... But I had some free time today and ****tada! I hope you liked it and that I'm not letting my dear readers down. Just trying to find ways to get Rin to communicate with the others a little more...**

**Speaking of which, I need _your_ help, reader-chan. I realise that I haven't been including the other Danganronpa characters enough! *cries* How dare me... And this is where you come in. Now, I know this is a little weird, but just like you would in some of those other Danganronpa stories, I need to you to submit ideas for 'free time events' if you get what I mean. Let's broaden the spectrum! So yeah, just suggest activities and/or characters who you would like to see interact with Rin. I've got a little bit of writer's block, here. And I'm not great at coming up with ideas to write about everyday life, you see... **

**So, please, read and review (you have no idea how happy I am every time I see 1 more view and how ecstatic I get when I see 1 more review), constructive criticism is always appreciated, and yeah, please submit ideas for 'free time events'! **

**Thanks!**


	8. School Fair

Chapter 8: School Fair

"Rin-san? What's wrong?" Fujisaki nervously asked, tugging a little at my jacket sleeve.

"A-wha? Eh? Nothing…"

"You haven't touched your food…"

In a moment of defiance, I angrily grabbed a biscuit off my plate and shoved it into my mouth. I regretted it upon seeing Fujisaki's reaction. She turned back to her plate, obviously upset. I could feel Owada's glare on me. Great. As if I didn't feel bad enough, hurting my best friend…

"Hey, I'm sorry, Fujisaki. Don't be upset. I'm just a little annoyed."

She faced me again, with a little smile now. "No need to apologize, Rin-san. I-I'm the one who's sorry… And if you don't mind my asking, thinking about what?"

"Oh, just that fair…"

"You mean the annual school one?" Ishimaru asked. "Why, that should be a blast for you! Think about it, you have the possibility to make any form of art you want!"

He wasn't lying - the school fair, held near the beginning and end of each year, was a public event in which students got to show off their skills. It was more like a leisure thing than any sort of assignment. And I, above all, had the chance to do, well, really anything. My title as SHSL Artist had come from the fact that I was talented in all areas of art - not only drawing and painting, but also photography, sculpture, even art such as the ones where you create patterns on water, and to a certain (in fact, quite small) extent, music. And not only that ; art lead me to other possibilities, for instance, with a little bit of practice, I would make a decent cake decorator…

"It's not that," I sighed. "I'm just picky when it comes to inspiration."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand…?"

"I can only do a good job when I'm inspired. And when I have to do something, I don't get inspired very easily."

The suggestions flowed in almost instantaneously.

"What about a design for a computer background?"

"A new logo for the Crazy Diamonds!"

"A school uniform, perhaps?"

"An awesome baseball bat which will _actually _make me want to practice, haha!"

"... Or what about a doll?" came a calm, feminine, almost cold voice from behind me. I turned around to see Celestia, who shot me back a smile.

Almost straight away, an idea started to blossom in my head. I could make those little Japanese wooden dolls, and make them little kimonos and everything. Or I could take an actual doll and make her a dress of some sort…

"Thank you!" I exclaimed standing up briskly from my chair, forgetting completely about the uneaten lunch in front of me and giving Celestia a hug. She merely stood there, a little perplexed.

"Um, you're welcome, James-san. Just be sure to repay me."

It was my turn to look at her, confused. In response, she let out a giggle and another smile before walking off.

'I may have sealed a deal I never wanted,' I thought to myself, but the idea was there and I was itching to do it, so I dashed off in direction of the art room.

On the way, though, I spotted a certain someone standing at a drink machine in the corridor.

"Is everything alright, Naegi-kun?"

The brown-haired boy turned around with a smile. "Yeah. It's just, this machine ate 200 yen of mine." He kicked the machine, but gently, as if he was afraid he would break it. "I'm sure it'll come around," he said hopefully, but after a little more kicking and pressing buttons, still nothing had happened. I fished out two 100 yen coins from my wallet and gave them to him.

"What's this for, Rin-san?"

"Why, for you of course! Hopefully the machine will accept them."

"Oh, thank you!" He put the coins in and a drink tumbled out. He opened it and offered me some, but I refused.

"I'm really happy you came, Rin-san," he said just as I was about to leave.

"What do you mean? Came where?"

"Well, I should have said it like this. I'm really happy that Hope's Peak made an exception for you. I really am. In fact, I'd say it's you the Super High School Level Good Luck. And, you're a great friend, Rin-san. "

It was a slightly touchy subject. Hope's Peak had noticed my talent after they had already decided on this year's class. Normally, I should've either not been invited or had to wait until next year, but they had decided to admit me as the 17th student. Naturally, this had been flattering, but had also caused some outcries from parents of gifted children. Then there was also that fact that technically, me getting in to Hope's Peak, this year at least, _was _just luck mixed with some talent.

"Thanks… But sometimes I wish I didn't get in. I feel like I tarnished Hope's Peak a little. Being the first, and probably last, 17th student. There are a lot of people who hate me just about now."

"They're only jealous," Naegi smiled, successfully lifting my mood. He was an eternal optimist - no one could argue about that.

"Thanks again, Naegi-kun. Anyways, see you around!" I ran back off towards the art room.

|-\-/-\-/-|

The art room was definitely my favourite room in all of the school. All the materials at my disposition was just heaven. I sat down, pulling out a white sheet and pencil, and started to plan my design. A kind of Japanese doll… Should I make it from scratch, or use an existing one? What kind of material and design for her kimono, and how many? Intricate details… How many would I make? How would I exhibit them?

I furiously jotted down all ideas that passed through my head, switching back to English because I couldn't think fast enough in Japanese. Oh, I was on a roll…

My thoughts were interrupted by the art room doors opening, and I almost fell off of the stool due to the brisk breaking of my concentration. By the door stood Mukuro Ikusaba. I sure hadn't thought she would be here.

"Ikusaba.. san?"

Contrary to what I had expected of her, she seemed very nervous. "I guess I'll leave…"

"No! Wait! You came here to do something, don't go! Stay!" She turned back around.

"Are you sure? I won't be bothering you?"

"Not at all. I enjoy your company." Well, the second bit wasn't entirely true, but I reminded myself that I hadn't really spent time with her at all, and more often than not, my first impressions tend to be completely off track.

She just stood there, thinking.

"Aren't you going to sit down?"

"Uh, yeah." She sat down on the stool opposite me. "So what are you doing?" she ventured, finally sounding a little more comfortable. I held up my paper to show her.

"I was designing things for the school fair."

"Oh! They're so cute! It looks really nice!"  
"Thank you. Anyways, what are you doing?"

She shifted a little in her seat. "I was thinking of doing an exposition on war… I came here to draw up some guns for them. I thought drawing them would not only allow me to connect further with the subject, but will also allow me to explain things in more detail. Well, maybe."

"War and guns aren't really subjects that take my fancy, but that sounds interesting. I mean, you've been through thousands of battlefields without a single scratch. That's really admirable. You're truly worthy of your title and I'm sure people would love to hear from you."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, making her Fenrir tattoo fully evident. "Well, if sis likes it…"

"Huh? Are you talking about Enoshima? Why does she need to approve? I mean, it's your project after all, she can do what she wants, but what you do is none of her business."

"I guess you're right," Ikusaba sighed. "It's just, she's a great little sister. I look up to her. She's popular and smart and pretty…"

"Hey," I cut her off. "I don't need this coming from you, of all people."

She laughed a little. "I guess I should be stronger as a soldier." I realized that I had in fact been completely wrong about her. She wasn't boring or monotonous or violent. She had a soft, sensitive side, like all of us. There was a pleasant silence.

"You know," she said suddenly, nervously leaning forward towards me, albeit with a slightly hopeful expression, "there's something I want to tell you."

"Yes?"

"It… Me and… Um… Never mind..." She sat back upright.

"You can tell me anything you want, you know. I mean, we may not have spent a lot of time together but you can trust me. Ugh, that sounds really cheesy, doesn't it?"

"Not at all," she smiled. "I'm sorry, but I have to take my leave now. We shall see each other at other times." And she left before I could say anything else. Confused, I went back to my drawing.

* * *

1 week later…

* * *

Setting up my own stall had been a blast. I had decided to do an exhibit portraying not only my little wooden dolls, but also all the things involved with the designs. I had also printed off some pamphlets on origami and making paper windmills. Furthermore, for the fundraiser which we were all expected to include in our stall, I accepted to make personalized name banners for 2000 yen.

The sun was shining bright, the morning air was warmer than before, happy voices and smells drifted through the air. Kids in particular were attracted to my stall. Looking incredulously at the mini kimonos. I explained to some interested teens and adults what I had done for my work, as well as some general art tips. I made intricate red dragons and waterfalls spell out a little boy's name. A girl asked for a fairy version of the same thing. All around me, my classmates were having the same success, even Hagakure, despite his community of haters and money swindling tendencies. On the oval, Leon was (slightly reluctantly) doing baseball with boys in particular. And those were just a few… Truly, Hope's Peak was where you got to learn by having fun! Prestige wasn't the only reason to try and get in.

I had been told that at 1 o'clock, I could close my stall for a moment to have lunch. I did just that, and found myself wandering around with a hot dog, looking for others. I noticed that a whole bunch of people had gathered around a stall, so I pushed through the crowd to see what was going on.

" - garbage and waste substances!" a boy with spiky hair dressed in a lab coat said proudly. I recognized him - he was the Ultimate Botanist, but I had forgotten his name. Center-stage in his stall was a small, red flower that I had never seen before. To demonstrate whatever he had been saying before, he chucked a piece of plastic at the flower. To my shock, the flower did what could only be described as eating it. The whole crowd gasped, and then people started to talk about the extraordinary new plant that could 'save the world' as some said.

"Hey, well done," I said. "It seems that really got people looking. Who knows, it might change the world for the better."

"Thanks," he said. "Hopefully it can cause some positive change in the world. The way I've engineered it, I can add other features. I'm also creating a better, bigger one. Hopefully…" He started checking his other plants, and so I bid him goodbye and went in search of the others. And that's when I spotted him, his ahoge sticking out like a sore thumb.

"Oy- Naegi-kun!"

The brunette turned around at the sound of his name, but so did a few other people who were walking with him. These were a man with black hair, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a younger girl who strongly ressembled Naegi.

"Hi, Rin-san! Speak of the devil, we were just talking about you. This is my family. And," he said, pulling the girl into a hug, "this is my little sister, Komaru."

"Hey," she complained, struggling to writhe her way out of her brother's hug, "lemme go, Makoto. I'm not a little kid anymore."

With a smile, Naegi held her tighter, and eventually she gave up.

"So, you're Emelyn James, that special 17th student. Naegi's told us all about you," Naegi's mom said. "And good things, too," she added with a wink.

I glared, jokingly at Naegi. "Oh, I'm sure your son says good things about everyone, I don't think he has a mean bone in his body," to which both parents laughed. Naegi smiled then grimaced as his sister jabbed him in the ribs. They sure were a happy family. No wonder Naegi was so cheerful and optimistic.

I habitually looked at my watch and noted that it was almost 2 o'clock, so I excused myself and went back to my stall.

|-\-/-\-/-|

Lying on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling, just making out the light bulb in the darkness. I had raised more than 9000 yen, thanks to my artwork, and so Jin Kirigiri had been very happy. The day had passed like a dream - I wasn't even sure in the whole thing was real.

Maybe I had sparked some outrage, maybe some people hated me right now.

But boy was I glad Hope's Peak had given me a chance.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone! I am sooooo sorry it's taken me a long time to update. I just didn't have ideas, and when I did, well, I procrastinated, so... sorry about that. And, also I had a suprisingly LOW number of suggestions for 'free time events'... Also, about the conversation with Naegi about Rin being the 17th student, I realize that it should have occurred earlier. I'm sorry, but I don't think that it would be a good idea to edit one of my earlier chapters. Not to mention I'm not sure how I would squeeze it in in the first place. Thank you to Dark-Alex-Demon1 for the suggestion of helping Naegi with the drink machine, which later on spawned that conversation. **

**A response to Triggering-Death: OMG, how did you know?! Haha. I was trying to hint at that near the end of Chapter 6. I'm glad you like the pairing, I did it mainly for my friend... And thank you for the suggestion! I'll be sure to include it in a later chapter, but I might change it to Fukawa since we've already had a chapter centered on Togami. **

**I'm planning to make my next update for June 9. It is a bit of a squeeze, but we have a special event coming up... And I'm just going to leave you in suspense. Devoted Danganronpa fans will probably recognize this date. Well, until then!**


	9. Surprise!

Chapter 9: Surprise!

_Ding dong._

Huh? Was that my doorbell?

"Not now," I mumbled, and turned over.

_Ding dong._

I grudgingly rolled out of bed to see what this person wanted. The clock read 5 am, and I wondered what kind of crazy they were to wake me up at such an early hour.

"Yes?" I asked grumpily, opening the door.

"Um, I came here to get-" Leon's sentence stopped halfway, and he started to blush.

I realized, too late, that I was wearing a tank top and flannel pants as pyjamas. I had forgotten to put on a jumper and so my cleavage was a little... too visible for my liking. And him, towering almost 30 cm above me, well… I, in turn, reddened, and hastily crossed my arms over my chest. "You were saying?"

"Um… Yeah, I was sent here to get you. Do you remember what we were discussing the other day in secret?"

"Ugh, Leon, you really have to ask me these kind of questions at 5 am?!"

"Sorry…" He was clearly uncomfortable, and I couldn't help but think he was a little cute like that. "It's Owada-kun's birthday today. We were going to throw him a surprise party today. Especially since we don't have classes…"

Instantly, whatever sleepy fog was clouding my mind evaporated. I LOVED surprise parties, and since I had been 'hired' a few times to make art for them, I also had some expertise in the area.

"Yes!" I said, punching the air. "I'll be right down! Just let me get ready." I rubbed my hands together. "Oho! This is going to be sooooo fun! Just you wait!"

I shut the door as quickly as possible whilst still taking care not to slam it, and got ready at the speed of light. How could I have forgotten about this event, even at 5 am? I had planned it over obsessively for at least two hours a couple of days ago, hell, I had even made a present for Owada.

7 minutes later, I was practically skipping down to the cafeteria. That was where we had arranged to meet beforehand, not to mention that was the standard meeting place for students. All the others, except for Owada of course, were there, already started on the party planning. Well, some were doing more than others, but nevertheless there was a general effort.

"Oh! Rin-chan!" Asahina called out energetically. _Of course_ she was bright and up at this early. As an Olympic-level swimmer, not to mention her fervent participation in other sports, one would assume that she gets up early every day for practice.

"Hello Asahina-san. We ready to get this surprise party done or what?" I said with a cheeky grin. "This is going to be fun! I've done these things before! I could do the decorations, maybe… Or, set the tables? Maybe it's too early?"

"Hey, Rin-san, would you like to do the cake with me?" Maizono asked, coming up beside me.

"Uh, I'm not a great cook…"

"Don't tell me that! I read online that you once entered a cupcake competition and won first prize!"

"Eh? Really?" Great… That had been something I didn't particularly want others reading about. But in any case, making a cake for someone you know is completely different! If you stuff up, you actually see their reaction…

"Don't worry, you won't stuff up!"

"Eh!? How… how did you… ?!"

"I'm an esper," she said with a dead serious tone. Then she giggled. "I'm just kidding. I have good intuitions, that's it. And I was also going to do the cake. I may focus on singing, but cooking is one of my hobbies. I daresay I'm quite good at it too!"

"Okay, then! And I could decorate it! It should be easy enough, considering my skill as an artist."

Leaving my decoration plans with Asahina, Maizono and I headed out of the cafeteria and into the adjoining kitchen where I saw Ishimaru and Fujisaki getting out ingredients… And a whole lot of chocolate.

"What do you need that much chocolate for?" I asked, wrinkling my nose. Call me weird, but I had never really like chocolate. "Surely it can't be for...?"

"Somewhat in accordance with Owada-kun's personality and title, his preferred cake is Devil's food cake." I started to laugh. Of course it would be! Ishimaru looked at me strangely, and I almost expected him to say 'laughing as such is not welcome in a school environment!' but he didn't.

"We wanted to make a really big cake," Fujisaki said as she hauled over a huge bag of flour, with a smile and a hopeful glint in her eyes. "Firstly, everything associated with Owada-kun seems to be big. And secondly, it wouldn't be fair to exclude all the others. We should let all other people present in the Academy have a slice!" she said with a determined tone of voice, and I smiled. She was truly one of the nicest people on Earth. I would never have cared about the others so much.

"Let's get cracking!" I exclaimed energetically but quietly, pulling back my sleeves and putting on an apron. Maizono pulled out a recipe and read out the instructions in her beautiful voice. We worked as a team, her mixing together the ingredients, and me preparing the icing as well as the decorations, checking from time to time the state of the cafeteria which was looking better and better. Junko sauntered over to me, running to back of her hand across my cheek.

"Hey sweetie-pie, how's it going?" she queried, smiling.

"It's going good," I answered, trying to inch away from her without seeming rude. "Have you been decorating?"

Ah, nah, I was deciding on my outfit, and with these nails doing physical work would be a little hard wouldn't it?" She sauntered back before I had to stop myself from glaring at her. What a great helper she was. That is sarcasm, of course.

I headed back to the kitchen where the cake was now in the oven. Even to my chocolate-hating eyes, it looked good. Sayaka was standing proudly at the sink, washing her hands, and I felt happy. This was going to be great!

/\*-*-*/\

Roughly half an hour later, I cautiously pulled the cake out the oven. I also freaked out around ovens, fearing I would be burned, but I managed to escape injuries of any kind, and placed the big cake on a cake cooler. There were a few other cakes in the oven which Fujisaki had prepared, with help from Leon and Ishimaru, for the other students. It was now 6:20 am. Everything would be perfect by 7 am, I was sure of it. And what Owada would think of it… The anticipation sent shivers up my spine.

After the cake had cooled a little, it was time for my specialty. I spread the thick, gooey icing over it as smooth as I could. I decided to place M&Ms and skittles around the sides. But after that, there was the question of the rest of the decoration. Should I put mini meringues on it? What should I write? Should I write anything at all? I wanted to get Maizono's and Ishimaru's opinions on my ideas before I actually did them, considering that they would probably know him better than me, especially Ishimaru. But, just as I came to ask them, the cafeteria doors opened and in stepped…

… Owada.

He was still dressed in his pyjamas - dark red pants, and had, differently to me, remembered to put on a jumper.

Everyone froze.

"Hey guys," he mumbled sleepily, "I just came to get a glass of-" He immediately stopped rubbing his eyes and blinked a few times in surprise. "Wait, guys?! What are you doing here?" Though, it was pretty obvious. A 'Happy Birthday Owada!' banner was being set up by Ikusaba on the other side of the room, Fujisaki had been handing Hagakure balloons for him to hang up on the left and Naegi was doing the same thing with a little help from Kirigiri on the opposite side of the room.

There was a silence of only a few seconds, but it felt like ages. This situation was practically hypocrisy. But, maybe I could save it!

"HAPPY SURPRISE BIRTHDAY OWADA-KUN!" I yelled, not caring if I woke up other students. The others looked at me in stunned silence for a moment, then picked up my gist.

"Happy Birthday Owada-kun!" they said in unison. Owada was still looking at us in surprise, but after a moment, he started to laugh. He laughed really hard, and continued to do so as we sang him a slightly shaky 'Happy Birthday'. Once we had finished, we looked at him, hearts pounding.

"Gee," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "thanks guys. I must say, I didn't really expect all of this…" Gradually, everyone started to grin. So, it hadn't been a complete fail after all.

Realizing that I hadn't finished the cake, I rushed back to the kitchen. Quickly, but as carefully as I could, I completed the decorations. On top, in bright red was writing 'Happy Birthday' along with the Crazy Diamonds symbol. Quivering with pride at my creations, I stuck in candles and lit them. Thankfully, the light switch for the cafeteria was right beside the exit to the kitchen, so the house lights went off, taking everyone by surprise.

"Yo, bro," I said with the deepest voice I could, "you dat Crazy diaMondo?"

Taking as much care as possible, I set down the cake on the table at which I could just make out Owada's figure in the dim candlelight. Then I dashed back and turned back the lights. I watched in glee as Owada's jaw dropped.

"F**k!" he exclaimed under his breath.

"Make a wish, Owada-kun!" Naegi cheered enthusiastically.

"Make sure it is fit for a school environment!" Ishimaru reminded, but no one really paid attention. Owada laughed again and blew out the candles.

"Hip, hip, hooray!"

* * *

"Now, it's time for Owada-kun's presents!" It was night, almost 10 pm, and we were all gathered in Owada's room.

"Oh, please, don't tell me you got pr-" Owada grumbled then stared in shock as Ogami entered carrying a huge, lumpy bag.

"Seriously?" But Owada didn't resist too much when all the presents were dumped in front of him. He took a lucky dip and pulled out a small envelope. A really, really tiny envelope. Owada tore it apart and found money it it.

"Togami-kun?" he guessed.

The blonde in question nodded. "I'm not good with sentimentality, but I am good with money," he explained curtly. But I was surprised that he was even there in the first place.

Next was a slightly bigger, and obviously heavier present. It was a book. 'A basic guide to Fortune Telling' was written on it in big golden letters.

"Ah, man, you make it too easy for me, Hagakure-kun!"

Hagakure merely shrugged. "It was that or a raincoat." I think that shut Owada up pretty effectively.

Next.

"A… karaoke kit?" Mondo blushed a little and held the package closer to him. "Umm… Is it… Maizono-san?" After seeing her nod happily, he questioned. "But… how did you know?"

"I'm an esper," she explained, before laughing, just like before with me at the cafeteria. "I believe you may have mentioned it once before, Owada-kun."

"T-thanks…" He placed the present behind him, under his bed, and reached in again. The bland wrapping paper revealed roller slippers.

"I swear you f**kers know me too well!" Owada said jovially. "And, well, I have no clue."

"It was me," Leon proclaimed. "Thanks to Sayaka-san's esper qualities." He leaned over and gave her a sort of one-arm hug. I couldn't help but feel a tinge of a strange feeling - composed of a mixture of jealousy, hurt and betrayal. I told myself it was silly and moved on. Even if he liked Maizono, that had nothing to do with me, right? I didn't like the guy anyways.

'Yeah, yeah, of course not,' a snarky voice from the back of my head said sarcastically. I shushed it. Or, at least, attempted to.

The next present was a brand new sarashi. Owada's face remained unchanged - a pleasantly shocked expression. The giver was pretty much evident: it was Ogami. She acknowledged this with a slight nod.

The next present was a small box. Inside was a chinchilla mug. Owada's guess was wrong this time.

"I… I am the one who gave you that present, not Naegi," Fujisaki said quietly. "Do… do you not like it?" She looked scared, like a little animal. I almost lunged across the room to hug her. This face of hers just made me want to cry. Judging by Owada's face, it was the same for him.

"O-of course not, Fujisaki-san! I like it! Thank you." Fujisaki instantly brightened up and smiled.

I recognized the next packaged as mine. My heart started to thump faster. Oh god. Would he like it? It felt like I was Fujisaki all of a second.

My present was a fabric wall scroll, with a background picture of Owada leading his biker gang. Painted over it was a stylized Crazy Diamonds logo. I suppressed a giggle as Owada's jaw dropped, for the second time that day, and he showed the others.

"Thanks, James-san."

"Not even as a guess?" I humphed, mock hurt.

"Why did you make this for me? It looks really… I dunno… Really complicated."

"Eh, it wasn't too hard. Not like I had anything better to do," I teased.

With a smile, Owada continued to pull out other presents.

The next present was Kirigiri's. She hadn't gone out of her way in any sense, but, although it pained me to even think it, she was slightly similar to Togami in the sense that she wasn't too sentimental. She had gotten him a neat set of a small notebook with a matching pen inscribed with Owada's name. Ishimaru had, unfortunately, gotten a very similar present - a notebook and a black pen, claiming that it was so that Owada wouldn't have any excuses any more that he had lost his books. Owada had replied with a happy "you f**ker" and a friendly punch on the shoulder which Ishimaru, surprisingly, reciprocated.

The tenth gift was obviously from Asahina - it was a huge tub of cotton candy. Yes, she was a donut fan, but still… The one after that wasn't any more concealed - a pack of cards from Celes so that 'we could all play together'. Yamada had created a light novel about the Crazy Diamonds. I had to say that his art was very good - it wasn't a coincidence that he was accepted into this academy as the Ultimate Doujinshi Creator.

Junko hadn't bothered to show up, and there was no present from her either, but Ikusaba was present, and her gift was a book on modern warfare. There was an awkward silence as Owada thanked her.

The final presents were from Fukawa - a book safe - and the last from Naegi.

"Well, I guess they do say Lucky Last, but I'm not entirely sure I'm living up to my title of SHSL Good Luck, am I?" he commented with a small smile. I couldn't help but feel that it was a sad smile.

Finally, a few minutes after the the 10 o'clock announcement, we all left Owada's room. I, however, lingered around a little.

"So, how did you like your surprise birthday party?" I asked. "Though, it wasn't really a surprise in the end, was it?" I added with a laugh.

"Nah, it was fine. Really, I'm just touched that you guys did anything at all." His face hardened. "But don't you dare tell that to my gang. I may have to kill you for killing my reputation."

"Of course not!" I exclaimed hastily, stepping back. He had actually scared me. He probably wasn't serious, but as leader of one of the most notorious motor bike gangs in Japan, you could never be too cautious.

"Haha. I was joking, James-san. But don't tell them, okay?" He shot me a wink and I left the room, happy with how the day had proceeded. It gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling, and, just like a few weeks ago at the school fair, I wondered if the whole thing was just a really good dream.

* * *

**Yay! I finished this chapter even before my deadline! Oh, whoops, I probably shouldn't have said that. **

**Anyways, I wrote this chapter for a special reason. It is June 9. **

**Happy Birthday Owada-chi! (yes yes, I realise I'm stealing that from Hagakure but whatever... *rolls eyes*)**

**And... that's it for today! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, although I did get a little slack about the present giving/receiving. Most of the presents are based off the danganronpa wikia page on Mondo Owada. And yes, he does actually like cotton candy. It says so!**

**Until next time! **


	10. Dangan Dancing

**I DID NOT come up with this title. **

**All credit for chapter title goes to SpiralRibbon :) **

* * *

Chapter 10: Dangan Dancing

Physical education...

Yet another one of those general subjects shared by all students. It was great, because not only was I terrible at it, but then all the others got to see.

Of course, trying to explain this to an ever-energetic Ishimaru was impossible.

As a general rule, classes stuck together for (almost) all subjects, and we had different subjects in different time slots to other classes, but sport was the one exception. Whilst classes still stuck together, it was a subject we all had at the same time.

We had done a variety of things, including archery, basketball, tennis, and running. Of course, I had failed miserably in all of them. Okay, we'll maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but compared to some, it was pretty terrible. Some... Like Togami. I averted my eyes from him at every possible time.

To be honest, I had started to notice some strange things with Fujisaki - she refused to enter the girls changing rooms, opting to change in her dorm ahead of time. I hadn't even noticed during the first weeks, but after a while, it had started to bug me. It was just like a science teacher with what could only be described as an isosceles triangle on his forehead. While I hadn't noticed it, all was fine. Once I had, it was the only thing I could notice. The rest of the class had ended up concentrating on his triangle instead of the lesson.

But this wasn't as bothersome as a visible thing. It was just a little strange. But, I reminded myself, everyone has their little quirks, right?

It had only been a few days since Owada's surprise party, so I was still in high spirits. With a happy Asahina by my side, continuously encouraging me to do my best, anything was possible! She was vastly better than me, due to her participation in a wide variety of sports, but her never-faltering smile and encouraging words made even me feel worthy. The same couldn't be said for the girl who I felt I was closest to, however. Fujisaki seemed on the edge of tears every time we had to do sport, numerous times explaining to me that she hated the fact that she was so weak. She didn't even have the strength to work out, apparently.

"But it's normal not to be very strong! Girls are often weak!" I had assured her the first time. Unfortunately, as a result, she had become even more upset, and I was left wondering where I had gone wrong.

My high spirits we, unfortunately, completely crushed when we were told during the day's lesson, that we were going to do a brief focus on dance for about 3 lessons before we moved on to the preparations for the athletics carnival. My hopes were further buried six feet underground when I was told we were to do partner dancing. In addition, our class had grown: those from the year above us were also doing the same unit as us. Leaving us barely enough time to wallow in our misery, the teachers clapped their hands and made us stand in two circles, the boys inside, the girls out.

Fujisaki stayed on the spot, looking hesitantly around as if she wasn't sure what to do.

"Come on, Fujisaki-san, let's go."

"Y-yeah..." She hesitantly followed me to the girls circle, where she was in front of Owada. The tall boy gave her a reassuring grin. I was in front of an upperclassman I didn't know.

The teachers showed us the steps to a simple partner dance, then turned on the music for us to try. After silly giggles from around the gym, and a few crashes, we finally got it. We only went through 4 partners before the music was turned off under the pretext of it being "just a warm up" because it was "too easy". With a sigh and a wish for the lesson to be over shortly, I tried, in vain, to remember the moves from the next dance we were doing. It was an undesirable one, having in it not only the famous promenade hold but also a waltz step and a twirl under a boy's arm. But once again, the music was starting, so I had to get on with it.

My next partner was Ishimaru. He was so serious about it that I found myself barely holding in my laughter. He didn't even notice. After another boy from the grade above, I found myself face to face with Leon. He laughed as he saw the stretch I had to make to put my hand on his shoulder, whilst he was almost stooping over.

"Shut up," I giggled quietly.

"I didn't say anything," he countered.

Before I could reply, it was time to move on to a new partner, Naegi. We exchanged awkward 'hi's. Really, I was just grateful to finally be dancing with someone more my height, and clearly he was too. He was shorter than most of the girls, but only by a few centimeters. And after that was... Togami.

Gritting my teeth, I danced as well as I could, not wanting to make a fool of myself in front of the self-made superior blonde, who would be sure to taunt me about my performance later. I also countered the urge to step on his feet, trying instead to look around to see how my other classmates were doing. Unfortunately, the height difference between us was even more evident and comical than before with Leon. I was glad when I moved on to the next boy, who was shorter.

Three dances and around forty minutes later, we were at the end of the lesson. I had passed a few more times through not only Togami and Leon, but also Owada, who was even taller than Togami, and so, we had burst out in fits of laughter every time . He may not be a very good person in sense that he broke a lot of laws, but he was really a fun person to be with.

Our torture lasted three lessons. Three whole hours, and I was fit to burst. It was definitely better than at my old, public school, but partner dancing is icky no matter where you do it.

When we had finished the supposed last partner dance during our last dance class unit, the teachers announced that we would do one more in the two minutes which were remaining. However, we all had to stand in one circle. Fujisaki was once again by my side, clinging to me without physically touching me. But, she seemed relieved that the partner dancing was over. I spotted Maizono on the other side of the room, looking very happy. It was without fail - her happiness was just plain contagious. But it did dim when I spotted her next to Leon. The latter was standing quite close to her, and to be frank, it made me angry. I wish he would make up his mind. But, let's be honest, only if that choice is me...

"Not like he would ever choose you," the pejorative voice at the back of my head said. "Maizono is much better. She's pretty, tall, is a great singer, smiles..."

It was hard not to listen to that voice. Thankfully, one of the two sport teachers started to speak.

"Now, this is very important. You all know this dance, and if you fail to do it, you'll get a failing grade. Understood?"

The students nodded, some grim, others terrified.

"Good, then let's start!"

Celes, who had been standing next to me, groaned. Of course, it was in that elegant way of hers.

"Oh, please."

"What is it?"

"I'll explain later..."

At that moment the music started. It was a funky tune I knew.

I knew it, but I couldn't quite pin it down. What was it?

All around me, students had started to smile and laugh.

The beat... Was familiar...

_I don't wanna be a chicken,_

_I don't wanna be a duck,_

_So I shake my but!_

_*clap, clap, clap, clap*_

Oh my god. They were making us do the chicken dance.

I started to laugh, and joined in. Somehow, my eyes fell on Togami, who was doing it, to my great surprise. It seemed as if he had never done this dance before. And he sure wasn't enjoying it - his moves were past half-hearted, in fact, barely there, and his face was the image of disgust itself. This sent me into peals of laughter. The image was carved into my mind and I wished that I had my camera to take a video

Just before the lunch bell rang, the song finished. The teachers were laughing, as well as the students. Well, except for Togami, of course.

"I knew they were going to do something silly," Celes explained, leaning over. "They didn't mean it, and it was obvious. They have terrible poker faces."

Of course, leave it to the Queen of Lies to spot something like that.

"Make sure you come prepared next week, Monday!" the teacher called out to us at the end of the lesson as we all hassled to get out. "We have preparations for the athletics carnival next lesson! And don't forget, it's the sport season! Athletics carnival coming up in two weeks, and swimming carnival after that!"

* * *

**A/N: A few things today...**

**First of all, I'm proud of myself. I managed not to procrastinate.**

**Secondly, I'm sorry for how short this chapter is. I just didn't really have anything more to write on the topic. **

**Thirdly, I have based this off my own experience the other day at school. (yes, the teachers made us do the chicken dance, catching us all by surprise). I am fully aware that things may be very different in Japan! I just have to assume it's similar to my own school life here because otherwise, I'll need to find a Japanese schoolgirl with which I can discuss things, and that may be a little hard.**

**Once again, I have an empty chapter slot, if that makes sense. If you have any ideas on things you will like to see happen, tell me! I'm open! Well, as long as it's not sport related. I'm going to have a whole bunch of sport related chapters coming up, so... I look forward to reading your ideas!**

**Triggering-Death: don't worry. I'll be sure to include your idea. Just not yet XD**


End file.
